Removing the Buttons Part Two - Murder of the heart
So if you're ready to embrace your weirdness (see yesterday's post if you haven't read it yet!) then let's move on through the next few verses in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount.
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them," (Matthew 5:17, NIV).
Jesus interjects this little comment before giving His next command. You see, Jesus is getting ready to completely undo all the Pharisees had created as far as what the law meant, how to follow it and why we follow it. So before Jesus jumps into His explanation of what it really means to follow the Law, He wanted everyone to know that He wasn't changing the law; He was finishing it. Another way to say the word for "fulfill" in the verse above is "complete." Jesus had come to complete the Law.
And one of the first things He did to complete the Law was to help His disciples (His audience at the Sermon on the Mount) understand what the Law really meant according to God's interpretation, not the Pharisees'.
So first He addresses murder.
"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment," (Matthew 5:21-22, NIV).
Murder was a pretty black-and-white command to the followers of God. And it seemed clear and simple in the Ten Commandments: "You shall not murder," (Exodus 20:13). Most people could resist the desire to physically take someone's life, and they really didn't need to put much effort into obeying the law.
Until Jesus added His explanation: anger is just as bad as murder.
Seems a little harsh. I mean, being angry isn't the same as killing.
Or is it?
Have you ever killed a friendship? Killed someone's enthusiasm? Killed innocence? Killed trust, love, or hope?
What role did anger play in that murder?
I'm not going to try to get all philosophical on you here. I'm not really even sure how to draw the line between anger and murder. I'm not going to say that it seems fair to put them on the same playing field, because to me it doesn't.
But Jesus takes anger seriously. And we should, too.
Way too often girls dismiss their "anger issues" as something they're born with and have no control over. I disagree. If anger had control over us, then what we do because of that anger wouldn't be a sin; it would be a disability.
Anger alone isn't sin; Jesus Himself got angry: "He [Jesus] looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand,'" (Mark 3:5, NIV). Jesus was angry at the stubbornness of the crowd around Him and their unwillingness to do good on the Sabbath for fear of breaking the law. (Even Jesus was against all the "buttons!")
We see a further explanation from Paul in Ephesians 4:26: "In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold," (NIV). Anger itself isn't sin; but if it's not dealt with quickly it gives Satan a foothold. And we sin because of it.
So we take our anger and allow Jesus to deal with it. We look at His example: even after all the injustice and torture and unfair treatment He begged God, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing," (Luke 23:34, NIV). We look at the hundreds of thousands of times He could have turned His back on us because of our sin but chose to love us instead. We look up how many times we are commanded to forgive.
And we ask God to release us from our anger and make us not angry.
Crazy, right? We love our anger! When someone does us wrong, we swim in it! We have every right to it! It feels good! Anybody would tell you that your anger is justified!
True. But remember the whole salt and light thing? We're not going to be like everybody else.
We throw off our anger. Because Jesus told us to. Because He gives us the power to. Because we know that when we love Him, we obey His commands, and He says to keep anger out of our hearts.
Who made you angry today? Yesterday? Last week? Last year? 10 years ago?
It's time to step away from the anger that has hung on and tempted you past the emotion and into the act of sinning.
We do the opposite of getting angry: we forgive.
So let's start a list of Jesus' simple, non-button commands so far:
1) Be weird.
2) Forgive.
More tomorrow!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for continuing to subscribe with your email address. Please spread this blog to your friends!
And please keep the emails coming: myleslienotebook@gmail.com
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them," (Matthew 5:17, NIV).
Jesus interjects this little comment before giving His next command. You see, Jesus is getting ready to completely undo all the Pharisees had created as far as what the law meant, how to follow it and why we follow it. So before Jesus jumps into His explanation of what it really means to follow the Law, He wanted everyone to know that He wasn't changing the law; He was finishing it. Another way to say the word for "fulfill" in the verse above is "complete." Jesus had come to complete the Law.
And one of the first things He did to complete the Law was to help His disciples (His audience at the Sermon on the Mount) understand what the Law really meant according to God's interpretation, not the Pharisees'.
So first He addresses murder.
"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment," (Matthew 5:21-22, NIV).
Murder was a pretty black-and-white command to the followers of God. And it seemed clear and simple in the Ten Commandments: "You shall not murder," (Exodus 20:13). Most people could resist the desire to physically take someone's life, and they really didn't need to put much effort into obeying the law.
Until Jesus added His explanation: anger is just as bad as murder.
Seems a little harsh. I mean, being angry isn't the same as killing.
Or is it?
Have you ever killed a friendship? Killed someone's enthusiasm? Killed innocence? Killed trust, love, or hope?
What role did anger play in that murder?
I'm not going to try to get all philosophical on you here. I'm not really even sure how to draw the line between anger and murder. I'm not going to say that it seems fair to put them on the same playing field, because to me it doesn't.
But Jesus takes anger seriously. And we should, too.
Way too often girls dismiss their "anger issues" as something they're born with and have no control over. I disagree. If anger had control over us, then what we do because of that anger wouldn't be a sin; it would be a disability.
Anger alone isn't sin; Jesus Himself got angry: "He [Jesus] looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand,'" (Mark 3:5, NIV). Jesus was angry at the stubbornness of the crowd around Him and their unwillingness to do good on the Sabbath for fear of breaking the law. (Even Jesus was against all the "buttons!")
We see a further explanation from Paul in Ephesians 4:26: "In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold," (NIV). Anger itself isn't sin; but if it's not dealt with quickly it gives Satan a foothold. And we sin because of it.
So we take our anger and allow Jesus to deal with it. We look at His example: even after all the injustice and torture and unfair treatment He begged God, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing," (Luke 23:34, NIV). We look at the hundreds of thousands of times He could have turned His back on us because of our sin but chose to love us instead. We look up how many times we are commanded to forgive.
And we ask God to release us from our anger and make us not angry.
Crazy, right? We love our anger! When someone does us wrong, we swim in it! We have every right to it! It feels good! Anybody would tell you that your anger is justified!
True. But remember the whole salt and light thing? We're not going to be like everybody else.
We throw off our anger. Because Jesus told us to. Because He gives us the power to. Because we know that when we love Him, we obey His commands, and He says to keep anger out of our hearts.
Who made you angry today? Yesterday? Last week? Last year? 10 years ago?
It's time to step away from the anger that has hung on and tempted you past the emotion and into the act of sinning.
We do the opposite of getting angry: we forgive.
So let's start a list of Jesus' simple, non-button commands so far:
1) Be weird.
2) Forgive.
More tomorrow!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for continuing to subscribe with your email address. Please spread this blog to your friends!
And please keep the emails coming: myleslienotebook@gmail.com
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